Where You Really Want to Be
by Singing Tree
Summary: Max commits suicide. Fang goes into a depression. What will happen when Fang goes into a bar to forget about her and meets a girl who looks exactly like her? Find out by reading this story.
1. I Love HER, I Miss HER

**A/N: Another random story I thought of while listening to my iPod (I haven't made a story with that excuse yet). It goes in a slightly different direction then my other ones. I'm probably not going to update this one much (ha, ha, ha. That's what I said about **_**Days Without the School**_**. That it would only be a side-story), but I will update it sometimes, so check back. So...here it is!**

Fang's POV:

It's been a year since _her_ death. _She_ killed herself an entire year ago. It's hard to believe that I didn't commit suicide when the flock couldn't find _her_ body. All we found of _her_ were _her_ clothes, bloody, torn, and in pieces. Each day was harder to live through then the last.

_She_ had told me that _she_ loved me a week before the incident. I had always hoped, but I never would have assumed that _she_ really had loved me.

But now _she_ was gone. The only girl I had ever loved. Max.

Thinking _her_ name still hurt. I remember how _she_ died so clearly.

We had been in New York, _her_ favorite place on earth. _She_ had just had a series of really bad brain-attacks. I should have seen the signs. I should have listened to _her_ more carefully.

"Fang, can we stop for the night?" Gazzy asked.

"Sure," I said, coasting towards the ground. There was a cave a few feet ahead. It was a perfect place to spend the night which I probably wouldn't sleep through. Again.

"Everyone, get some rest," I said. "I want to make it to New York by tomorrow, the day after at latest."

The flock stared at me. I had made every attempt to avoid New York since _she_ had died. But with the one-year mark coming up, I wanted to visit the place _she_ had died.

I still couldn't get _her_ off my mind. I hadn't been able to stop thinking about _her_ since _she_ died.

I don't think I would ever be able to forget about _her_.

**A/N: Well, you know what to do! Click the review button already! I'll have the next chapter up, hopefully, later tonight or tomorrow.**


	2. Let This Go

**A/N: And here's chapter two! If anyone has ideas for a title, please let me know! Also, I forgot to mention, Max, Fang, and Iggy are 18; Nudge is 15; Gazzy is 12; and Angel is 10.**

Max's POV:

It's been a year since I left the flock.

I couldn't leave a note or anything for them, and I couldn't just leave, so I "committed suicide". I basically made sure that Fang was watching and jumped off the top of the top of a skyscraper that was near the ocean, with my wings folded up, and directed myself into the water.

Hitting was water hurt a bit, but I had to do it. The brain-attacks were getting out of hand, and I couldn't be dead-weight for my flock, Fang's flock, now, anymore.

I felt rotten, though. I had finally told Fang that I loved him, but then the rapid-brain-attacks started, and I was being like a lead-weight for the flock. So I had to leave.

I made a living by working at a bar as a waitress, part-time dancer, and, rarely, a singer. Surprisingly, my voice is pretty good. I even found a way to forget about the flock and, more importantly, Fang sometimes.

I find a guy who's had _a lot_ to drink and flirt with him. That usually gets the guy really...

Anyway, so that's how I forget about my old life. The voice doesn't bother me anymore. I think it just gave up on trying to tell me to "save the world" all the time. Erasers never both me anymore, either. Maybe the School gave up on me since they figured I was pretty much a bum. Which I am. A usually-drunk, whore. That's me.

I was doing a night-shift at the bar I work at in New York, rotating my singing job with a co-worker so I was next, when a tall, hot guy with chocolate-brown hair and olive-toned skin walked in.

And when I say hot, I mean _really hot_. I probably could have cooked a full mean on his chest, if hot, like a fire, and hot, like this guy, was the same type of hot.

He was wearing a black t-shirt and baggy-ish jeans, which were also black.

In the back of my mind, behind all the drinks I had had that night, I knew I recognized him, but I couldn't remember where I had seen him before. Had I slept with this guy before? I couldn't remember, so I just let myself forget about seeing him before. I knew who I was flirting with tonight, though, that's for sure.

My co-worker, who's name was Ashlyn, had finished her singing routine, so I went up the steps to do my song. I knew what I was singing tonight, _Let This Go_, a song from Paramore. I had done this song before, so I could sing it like a pro.

"Here's our next singer, an amateur singer who'll probably be the next _American Idol_, give it up for Maxine!" the bar-tender said over the mike. I had changed my name so I would have even less trouble forgetting my old life.

I walked up the steps to the stage, loving the attention I was getting from the crowd.

"_Maybe, if my heart stops beating, it wont hurt this much.  
_

_And never will I have to answer again to anyone._

_  
Please don't get me wrong._

Because I'll never let this go, but I can't find the words to tell you.

_  
I don't want to be alone, but now i feel like I don't know you_."

I sang the entire song, plus an encore, loving how all the guys were staring at me, especially the hottie in the black clothes.

After I finished the song the entire bar applauded, and I noticed Mr. Dark and Hot staring at me. The _way_ he was staring, though, was weird. Instead of looking like he'd want a night with me, he looked almost horror-struck.

I walked off stage and over to where the hottie was sitting. He didn't have a drink in front of him, so I could assume that he hadn't had anything.

"Hey," I said, sitting at the same table across from him. "Can I buy you a drink?" I made sure to make my voice sound as "girly-girl" as I could so he'd loose the horror-struck look.

"Uh, no thanks," he said, getting up to leave. "I-I have to go." And with that, the hottest guy who has ever walked into my bar just walked out. He didn't even buy a drink.

**A/N: You don't actually think I'd kill Max, do you? Of course not! The next chapter should be pretty interesting. I'll try to have that one up tonight, too.**


	3. Fang?

**A/N: This chapter takes place about five days after the last one. Read between the lines and know that Fang didn't tell the flock about seeing Max because they would have thought he was crazy and that Max only spoke about Fang, who she still doesn't remember, to her co-worker, and close friend, Ashlyn.**

Fang's POV:

I still can't believe I went into that bar. I still can't believe that I saw someone who looks so much like _her_. The singer at that bar even had a similar name as _her_.

Could Max be alive?

I winced. You'd think that after a year, I'd know better then to think _her_ name.

"Ig, you're on watch," I said, tapping Iggy's hand twice. "I'll be back by morning."

"Where are you going?" Iggy asked in a whisper.

"Just flying," I told him, getting up and taking a running jump to take-off.

I knew where I was going, the reason why the flock was still in New York.

I was going back to that bar.

Max's POV:

A waitress job is a wonderful thing. Especially at a bar filled with guys.

Especially at a bar filled with _single_ guys.

I went behind the counter and started taking orders from guys _without_ wedding rings. And even if they didn't have a ring, I could tell who was married.

I was just serving up a drink, which was stronger then the drinker ordered since he was cute, when the hottie from my singing night walked in.

"Oops," I muttered, dropping the glass I was holding. "I'm so sorry, sir. I'll get your drink for you in a fresh glass right after I clean up this mess, it's on the house."

"Thanks miss," the man said. I went over to get a towel to clean up the mess and told Ashlyn the man's order so she could get it for him. Ashlyn and I usually shared the same job when we had the same shifts.

I was throwing the towel in the trash when the Hottie sat behind the counter—

And started talking with Ashlyn!

I felt my face go slightly red, and not from the drinks. The Hottie smiled, just a small smile, but he looked sooo hot when he smiled. Well, hotter then usual, at least.

I went back to my job, but kept glancing at the Hottie every few minutes.

"So, what's your name, anyway?" I heard Ashlyn ask.

"Fang," the Hottie said.

_Fang?_ I thought. _That's a weird name_.

Then I passed out, right on the dirty floor of the bar.

**A/N: Expect the next chapter soon! And, really, this story needs a title!**


	4. Where You Want to Be

**A/N: I'm on a roll tonight!**

Fang's POV:

I heard her fall before I looked over.

I had just been talking with a waitress, whose name, I learned, was Ashlyn. She had just asked my name, so I told her Fang.

And then her co-worker passed out.

"Max!" Ashlyn gasped.

"Max?" I whispered.

"Yeah, that's her name. She asked for a job here about a year ago. Seriously, she was pretty messed-up."

I jumped over the counter, earning several stares, and knelt down next to Max. I felt her back, just to see if it was really her, and my fingers met her soft, delicate, wing feathers.

Max was really alive.

"Max," I whispered, shaking her lightly. "Max, wake up."

Max moved her head slightly and her eyelids fluttered open for a second.

"Max, are you ok?"

"Fang?" she asked, obviously confused. She passed out again right after she said my name.

"Max, I'm right here," I murmured.

"Do you know her from somewhere?" Ashlyn asked.

"Yeah," I said, stroking the side of Max's face gently. "I guess you could say she and I were childhood friends."

"Seems like you were a bit more then just friends," Ashlyn muttered.

I ignored her and shook Max again.

"Ashlyn, stop," Max said in a quiet voice. I looked at Ashlyn for a second.

"She and I are roommates," Ashlyn informed me.

"Max, wake up," I said, shaking her again. I took a deep breath and hoped Ashlyn was drunk enough not to remember what I said next. "Max, it's your watch."

Right as the words came out of my mouth, Max's eyes shot open.

"Max, thank god, you're ok," Ashlyn said.

"Fang?" Max asked. "How did you find me?" she demanded.

I smiled slightly. "Random luck," I muttered.

"Ashlyn, could you give us a minute?" Max asked.

"Sure," Ashlyn said, her gaze flickering between me and Max.

"Honestly, how did you find me?" Max demanded again.

"Really, I just walked into here a few nights ago and saw you. Why didn't you come back? Everyone thought you were dead," I told her.

"I had my reasons," Max said, looking down slightly.

"Max," I put my hand on her cheek, turning her face to look back at me, "why did you leave me?"

I could see in her eyes that Max was struggling to answer.

"I-I just needed a break from life," Max said. She was trying to turn her face away again, but I didn't let her.

"Why did you leave us?" I asked her again.

"I just told you, I needed a break from my life. I wanted to start a new life, one where I wouldn't be a burden to anyone," she said.

"You weren't a burden," I told her. "What made you think that?"

"I was getting so many attacks. I could tell that I was slowing you down, so I faked my death and left only some torn clothes behind. I figured that, with me gone, you'd lead the flock and you guys would save the world," Max said. I let go of her face. "I figured it shouldn't take long for you to get over me, so I left. This is the first time I've really been able to remember what happened since that day."

"Max," saying her name felt so right now, knowing she was alive, "the flock hasn't gotten over you. You can ask them when you get back—"

"What are you talking about?" Max asked. "I'm not going back. I like my new life. The voice has left me alone for almost an entire year now. I don't have to worry about the School, or Erasers, or Flyboys, or any of that stuff. I'm not leaving this life."

I jumped. It was as if she had shocked me.

"Don't get me wrong, Fang, I did miss the flock, at first. But time heals all wounds, and I can barely remember what they looked like. I didn't even remember who you were when you first came in here."

"You really don't want to come back? You'd really rather stay here and live as a bartender then live with the flock?" I paused, staring straight into her eyes. "You'd rather stay here then live with me?"

Max looked down again, clearly upset about what I was saying.

"Fang, I can't leave this," she said, her voice cracking. "I do love you, but I don't want to go back to fighting. It's been too long."

I don't know what made me do what I did next. I put my hand under her chin, tilting her head up, and pressed my lips to hers. Max tried to break away at first, but gave up after a second and wrapped her arms around my neck.

"Fang," Max whispered after we broke apart. "I want to go with you back to the flock, but I want to stay here, too." She leaned her head against my shoulder, her arms still around my neck. "I don't know what I want."

"Come back with me," I whispered into her ear. "At least for one day. Come back and see where you really want to be."

**A/N: And that's how I figure out the title of my story. What do you guys think of this chapter? I wrote the last part while a song was stuck in my head from a movie (Twisted Every Way from the **_**Phantom of the Opera**_** soundtrack). Please review, review, and review again!**


	5. Flashback

**A/N: Ok, this chapter takes place directly after the last one.**

Max's POV:

"Come back with me," Fang whispered in my ear. "At least for one day. Come back and see where you really want to be."

I was so torn. I wanted to go with Fang, the only guy I truly loved, but I also wanted to stay at the bar and work. I knew that I couldn't have both. Fang and the flock would probably leave New York soon, so I'd never be able to keep my job. Ashlyn would feel so betrayed if I left, though.

"Fang, I—"

"Max, please," Fang said, putting his hand on my head. I'll give him this much, he had me mostly convinced, but I couldn't just go back to the flock. They'd probably hate me for what I put Fang through, for what I had put them all through.

"Fang, I can't," I said, removing my arms from around his neck. Thank god it was a slow night. I stood up and started walking away, but Fang grabbed my hand.

"Max, please." I looked down at him into his face. I could see that he still remembered me telling him that I loved him. He still remembered the day I left.

_Flashback_

I was standing on the top of the world.

At least, that's how it felt from the top of a huge skyscraper by the ocean.

The brain-attacks and the voice had gotten out of hand. I was a hassle for my flock, even though they'd never admit it.

I was standing at the very top of the building waiting for him.

I knew he would come. He had seen me "sneak out", and he was bound to follow. I knew he'd want to make sure I didn't have a brain-attack in mid-air.

'_Max, think about what you're about to do!'_ the annoying voice in my head told me.

Shut up, Voice, I thought at it. I don't need you anymore.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him. He had shown up, just like I knew he would. Now I could get this stunt over with.

The second he was in sight-range, I did it. I jumped.

I put my arms out in front of me as if I was going to do a dive, but I didn't open my wings. I didn't yell, I didn't struggle, nothing.

"Max!" I heard him call, but I ignored him. He'd think I'd committed suicide, which was the point. I was wearing two layers of clothing. One layer, the top one, was torn and bloody from out last Eraser fight. The other layer, the second one, was clean.

"Max, no! Max!" he called my name again. "Max! MAX!"

I had hit the water. Finally.

I took off the top layer of clothing underwater and tore it to pieces before swimming to shore. I had been watching this place for a while, so I knew it backwards and forwards. I knew that there was a cave just a little more to the left of where I had hit the water. I swam as hard as I could to get to the cave before—

SPLASH!

He hit the water. I barely made it to the cave in time. I didn't have to worry about him seeing me. With the water so dark and the cave so hidden, it would be a miracle if he saw me.

I could see him searching the water. I saw his hands moving like pinwheels to stay where he was. His left hand hit the first piece of torn, bloody clothing. He clutched the torn cloth and swam to the surface, probably thinking that he had my shirt in his hand.

As he swam to the surface, I went to the part of my cave that could give a tiny view of the beach. The most I could fit through the hole was my hand.

I saw him walking up the beach. He was the only one there. I could see him look down at his hand at the bloody piece of clothing he would recognize as what I had been wearing.

He stared at the clothing for a few minutes before collapsing on the beach. He was on his knees, and I felt rotten. I was the one doing this to him. I loved him, but I couldn't go comfort him.

He looked at the water then back on the piece of clothing and started shaking uncontrollably. I could see, in the faint moonlight, two streaks on either side of his face from tears that were falling. I wanted to sit down on the cave floor and cry myself, but that would have meant real death. The cave was only empty of water for the night, and if I cried I would probably have fallen asleep.

"Max, why? Why?!?" I looked out of the hole in the cave wall at him again. He was screaming up at the sky. "Max, why would you do this to me?" I could hear him sobbing as he spoke. If only I could go comfort him. But I couldn't. I had to stay hidden.

After a few more minutes, I heard wings fluttering and saw Iggy landing on the turf next to him.

"What is it? What happened?" I heard Iggy ask.

"She's dead, Ig," he said. "She committed suicide." I could hear a fresh wave of sobs coming from him.

"She's...she..." Iggy started twice, but he couldn't get more then a word out. "She's really dead?"

I saw him hold up the torn piece of clothing. "She's really dead, Ig," he said through tears.

I couldn't bear it anymore. I looked away from the whole scene. I looked away from my life. I looked away from Fang.

_End Flashback_

"Fine," I said. "I'll go with you for _one day_ to see if I want to go back to that life. But I'm not leaving New York until I've made a decision, clear?"

"Yes, Max," Fang said, standing up.

"Hey, Ashlyn," I called over to my co-worker.

"Yeah, Max?" she called back to me.

"I'm taking off the next two days, ok? I want to spend some time with my old friend. Is that ok?"

"Sure, I'll handle everything over here," Ashlyn said.

I smiled a tiny bit. "I'm ready to see the flock again," I said. Fang nodded and led me out of the bar.

**A/N: Ok, was that chapter not really good? I even liked reading it. Tell me what you think by, obviously, REVIEWING! REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW! Review like you would for a test!**


	6. Because You Live

**A/N: An un-official sixth chapter for this story. I wasn't sure if I the fifth chapter is a good enough ending, so I'm posting this as an excuse to make an author's note. So review telling me if chapter 5 is a good enough ending, or if I should continue it.**

Fang's POV:

_It's the end of the world in my mind  
Then your voice calls me back like a wake up call  
I've been looking for the answer  
Somewhere  
I couldn't see that it was right there  
But now I know what I really know _

Because you live and breathe  
Because you make me believe in myself when nobody else can help  
Because you live, girl  
My world has twice as many stars in the sky

It's alright, I survived, I'm alive again  
Cuz of you, made it though every storm  
What is life, whats the use if your killed inside  
I'm so glad I found an angel  
Someone  
Who was there when all my hopes fell  
I wanna fly, looking in your eyes

Because you live and breathe  
Because you make me believe in myself when nobody else can help  
Because you live, girl  
My world has twice as many stars in the sky  
Because you live, I live

Because you live there's a reason why  
I carry on when I lose the fight  
I want to give what you've given me always

Because you live and breathe  
Because you make me believe in myself when nobody else can help  
Because you live, girl  
My world has twice as many stars in the sky

Because you live and breathe  
Because you make me believe in myself when nobody else can help  
Because you live, girl  
My world has everything I need to survive

Because you live, I live, I live

I had only heard that song once before, right after Max had died. Iggy had forced me into a grocery store, since I had refused to go anywhere in public since Max had committed suicide. The song had been playing on the radio.

And now, a year later, I'm walking into, I think, the same grocery store, and that's the song playing on the radio. Amazing.

**A/N: Can you guess what movie I just watched? **_**Princess Diaries 2**_**, which has that song on the soundtrack. I 3: Chris Pine (actual person (a/p)), Jesse McCartney (a/p), Gerard Butler (a/p), Robert Pattinson (a/p), Leonardo DiCaprio (a/p), Alexander Sterling ( 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3), Edward Cullen ( 3 3 3 3 3 3 3), Stefan Salvatore ( 3 3 3 3 3 3 3), Fang ( 3 3 3 3 3 3), and the Phantom ( 3 3 3 3 3). Sorry, but Alexander DOES have more hearts then Edward, I know. But I'm still an A.T.A.! (A.T.A. Avid Twilight Addict ( I came up with that myself!)**


	7. Sorry, just an update

Hey. I know it's been a super-long time since I've updated…anything. Well, stuff's been real over here.

I published a book. So…yeah.

It's called _Rapunzel: Retold_. If there's anyone out there who is still interested in reading stuff I've written, please feel free to buy it. Please buy it. It's available on and

Please. I'm poor and starting a family soon.

Also, I realize that now, everyone on is going to have access to my actual name. Please, please, don't google me or try to friend me on Facebook. I only accept friend requests of people whom I actually know.

Anyway, thanks and I'll try to be back to writing on here soon! I will be focusing more on work and family stuff and school, though.


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